Last night was opening night for our DirectorFest project. I can hardly believe how fast it all went. And I can barely wrap my mind around the mileage the designers were able get out of their budget to put together four very different productions. Lately as a director, I keep recognizing this feeling I get in the middle of the process. I take in all of the hard work that everyone is putting in to their perspective roles, and in this moment I wonder how it will all add up. Will it be the glory of a vision fulfilled, or will it fall short of the dream. In an episode of the classic tv show Laverne & Shirley, they win a grocery shopping spree where they have three minutes to grab all of the gorceries they can. At the end of three minutes, whatever they can put over the finish line they get to keep, free of charge. During the spree, Laverne and Shirley load their basket, and themselves, with so many groceries that they can’t rush to the finish line. They literally fall short at the end of the race. In the end, all they can manage to reach across the line is a box of fish sticks and a box of Scooter Pies. Now that I’m over the line I can say with satisfaction that I got more than fish sticks and Scooter Pies; I got a big cart full of groceries.
I wanted to share my appreciation to everyone who worked so hard during tech this past week. I wanted to celebrate their work to make the vision of Moony’s Kid Don’t Cry and the DirectorFest event a reality. Thank you notes were the way to go. I included all the design team, cast and crew, and thanked them for their efforts towards everything we have on that stage. I also wrote a note to thank Tennessee Williams too. I handed out notes at half hour but Tennessee never showed up. (Or did he.) Here is what my note said to him:
Dear Tennessee,
Moony’s Kid Don’t Cry is a story that’s epic and humane. The characters are mythic and mundane. Your words are sacred and profane. I now know life from both sides of this experience and I bring a piece of Moony’s world into my own.
Thank you, Thank you,
Christopher Windom
What did I learn? This week I learned a deeper meaning to the phrase “The joy is in the work”. I believe that what I focus on grows, and this week I chose to focus on the joy and fun of theatre making. And in ways epic and mundane, joy and fun came bouncing back to me. Joy in the work isn’t something that always exists, but it is something I can create and bring into the room.